There was an axiom that the three most important words in the retail trade were “location, location, location.” It was all about commercial real estate, and in the jewellery business it was what first drove traders to the high street, top of the line brands to Fifth Avenue, Place Vendôme and New Bond Street, and many thousands of chain stores into the shopping malls. But in the post-COVID world will it a be a principle that still rings true?

Omni-channel marketing is the new catchphrase in the retail market, and it is a discipline where the lines between the physical and digital are becoming blurred. And both are increasingly dependant upon the other.

Those retailers that are reluctant to embrace it, run the risk of becoming extinct. “Channels are multiplying – providing more opportunities to interact and engage with consumers,” noted the Boston Consulting Group in a recently released study of the retail sector. “Because of the growing market complexity and heightened consumer expectations, retailers must have a strong, dynamic, multi-channel strategy.”

The Jewellery Industry Voices webinar took the form of a Round Table Discussion, featuring an open-ended discussion between three experts on the critical topic of “Will retail, as we know it, be forever changed?”

Among the participants were Ashley Dudarenok, a China marketing expert, best selling author and vlogger, who was recognised as a LinkedIn Top Voice in Marketing in 2019 and is the founder of the China-focused social media marketing company Alarice, and ChoZan, a China insights and training company. She was joined by Thomas Baillod, a consultant to the Swiss watch industry and founder of the Watch Trade Academy, who has been advocating for the digitalisation of the marketing and distribution models used in the sector.

Stephane Fischler, Chair of CIBJO’s Technology Committee led the discussion.

Assisting the moderator were Edward Johnson and Steven Benson, and Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President, welcomed the participants.